


take me anywhere

by onakissgodknows



Category: Baseball RPF
Genre: Colorado Rockies, M/M, Not Beta Read, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-27
Updated: 2018-02-27
Packaged: 2019-03-24 16:06:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13814682
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onakissgodknows/pseuds/onakissgodknows
Summary: Carlos leaves Nolan in Phoenix the morning after their postseason hopes are dashed.





	take me anywhere

**Author's Note:**

  * For [carebearstare](https://archiveofourown.org/users/carebearstare/gifts).



> Based on the tumblr prompt "Surprised Kiss." According to that meme I was supposed to accomplish this in 100-300 words. Whoops. This is brought to you by my still-sad-about-the-wild-card-game feelings. Also all my I-miss-Cargo feelings.

Carlos leaves Nolan in Phoenix the morning after their postseason hopes are dashed, because Nolan’s not ready to go back to Denver and Carlos kind of wants it to be over. A full season gone by, and they’d held a playoff spot for all 162 games, and then it just – ends.

Carlos does try not to dwell, because this is just how baseball works, but sometimes it seems so needlessly cruel.

They land in Denver and Carlos feels like he’s in a fog. He goes to the ballpark to clean out his locker and he tries to joke around with the other guys, but it’s hard to not think about the fact that they could – should, maybe – be getting ready to go to LA, not getting ready to go home. He can’t forget that this will probably be the last time he cleans out his locker at Coors Field, especially when Charlie Blackmon hugs him a little tighter and longer than usual when he says goodbye.

Carlos tries to pack, tries to get himself ready to go home to Florida, but he can’t. He’s going to regret so much if he goes home now.

He texts Nolan, _You still in Phoenix?_

Nolan texts back a thumbs-up emoji, which Carlos figures is a yes, so he shoots back _how much longer?_

_don’t know, fam leaving tmrw, might stay couple more days_

Carlos doesn’t text him back right away, then has to ask: _you okay?_

Nolan sends a thumbs-down emoji, then _I’ll live_.

Next spring, Nolan will practically have forgotten the sting of their elimination. He’ll show up at Salt River Fields with a renewed fervor, the end of the wild card game nothing more than something for Nolan to use to push himself forward. They can make it next year. There’s a World Series in Nolan’s future, and if he plays his cards right, it will be with the Rockies.

If there’s a World Series in Carlos’s future, it will not be with the Rockies.

He doesn’t know where he’ll be come spring, and he didn’t accomplish everything he wanted to with the Rockies, but it’s okay. Maybe what he’s had is enough.

Maybe he can cross off one more thing before he goes.

He texts Nolan again, _don’t leave Phoenix. I’m on my way. Forgot something when we left_.

Nolan sends him _???_ but Carlos ignores it. He buys a plane ticket and texts Nolan the time he’s landing, along with _if you want to meet me_.

He doesn’t know if Nolan will really show. He thinks Nolan will, doesn’t know what he’ll do if he doesn’t. This feels like a last chance. Carlos had his last chance at postseason glory with the team he grew up on, and he wasted that. He doesn’t have to waste this. He doesn’t have to let Nolan pass him by.

Wherever he ends up in the spring, there’s no other Nolan Arenado. He should have done this sooner.

Nolan’s waiting for him outside the Phoenix airport when Carlos gets off the plane, leaning against a nondescript rented Honda wearing a pair of dark sunglasses. He clearly hasn’t shaved in a few days, but the way the light of the sunset hits him he looks like a movie star.

“Look at you,” Carlos says by way of greeting, swatting at his glasses. “Incognito much? Bond, James Bond?”

Nolan smacks his hand away. “Fuck off, I’m depressed.” He grins at him anyway. “Get in, they don’t want us blocking traffic.”

Carlos slides into the passenger’s seat. It’s an unapologetically ugly car; Nolan could have gotten a better one if he’d asked, but he figures Nolan was looking for something that would be easy to get around in without getting anyone’s attention.

Nolan pulls out of the pickup lane and drives them to a gas station. “Need to fill the tank.” While the gas is pumping, Nolan gets back into the driver’s seat and faces Carlos, removing his sunglasses. “So what’d you come back here for?”

Carlos taps his fingers on his knee. “Needed to see you.”

“Worried I’m suicidal? Don’t. I’m fine.”

Carlos smiles and shakes his head. “You’re not, but you will be.”  

Nolan looks away, grinning. “You said you forgot something.”

“Maybe I did.”

“Sure you did.” Nolan laughs.

Carlos puts a hand on the back of his neck and squeezes gently. “You should have come back with us.”

“Couldn’t. You understand.”

“Yes, but it seems awfully selfish to make me come all this way for this.” Carlos leans across the gear shift and kisses Nolan.

It seems to take Nolan by surprise and he jerks back for a moment to say “I didn’t _make you_ ,” but then he leans in again and kisses Carlos back with more enthusiasm than Carlos had to begin with. He’s leaning across the gear shift, straining to pull Carlos closer to him, like – like he’s been waiting for this too.

Finally Nolan pulls away and shoves Carlos back, laughing. “ _I forgot something_ is such a bullshit excuse.”

Carlos grimaces. “Too cheesy?”

“Yeah, way too cheesy, do better next time.” He smacks Carlos on the thigh and gets out of the car to pay for the gas.

He’s laughing again when he gets back in and leans across the console to kiss Carlos again. Carlos knots his fingers in his hair to hold him there a moment longer, leaning into his kiss. They’re going to have to talk about this soon. They’ll have to discuss how long Carlos has been wanting to do this, how long Nolan’s wanted it too, what the fuck they’re going to do next season when they aren’t together – but it can wait, because for now, this is enough.

Nolan starts the car. “Man, I thought I was taking you back to our hotel from the other day, but since you were lying about forgetting something – where are we going?” He’s grinning enough that it’s spread across his entire face, crinkling his nose and squinting his eyes.

Carlos laughs. “I'll let you tell me. Take me anywhere.”  

**Author's Note:**

> I am on [tumblr](https://on-a-kiss-god-knows.tumblr.com/)! Feel free to say hi.


End file.
